Personal Note

Loving Languages and Latin

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Spanish is the Number One speakers studying English on Duolingo. That’s the #1 of all the X learning Y in the world. There are 96 languages being taught by Duolingo. I could be part of that crowd, except I’m a native English speaker. So I’m part of the #2 group, English speakers studying Spanish. I recently added Frech to my list of languages. I’m studying it with my nephew Mason. That’s #3 on the list.

As an English speaker, there are 36 languages to choose from. I’ve been studying Latin for a bit of time now. That makes three languages to learn. It ranks #54 among the group of languages. They include constructed languages Esperanto and High Valyrian.

In Latin I managed to get them all correct today. Except, well, check this out:

Spelling in Latin

Yes, I completed my list by misspelling all four words. I expect them to become less lenient further in the course.

If you have been wondering about a language, well Duolingo is a great way to go. It is free if you are tolerant of advertisements. I am not. I pay them. And it is so worth it – even from an entertainment perspective.

Two Years Ago

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Two years ago, give or take a day or two – I can’t remember, life changed. I couldn’t remember things. I couldn’t write. I couldn’t walk, well much. I couldn’t understand what had happened.

A stroke had happened.

I was supposed to be well again, after my TAVR. A Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement is a pretty straightforward insertion of a replacement for the aortic valve. It is as good as new. You’ll feel like you are 20 years younger. Unless a hole is poked in the side of your heart. Unless they have to chop your sternum in two to get at the heart. Unless a guy has to hold your heart in his hands while whatever they put on it coagulates and plugs the hole up. One very dedicated guy, Dr. Lampros, held my heart in his hands for half an hour while that happened. And you know, after that I was OK. They kept me in bed and I was feeling better. My wife and mom went home feeling good about my future. I was over the hump.

Then a stroke happened.

A stroke takes many forms. I was lucky enough to be in a hospital talking with a nurse. She noted my symptoms. She had me squeeze both hands. She called in people and I was onto a new adventure. Strokes are, in many ways, worse than a heart attack. I was lucky, the nurse noted my stroke and got me into surgery quickly. They found the clot quickly. I was on to recovery. Sorta.

I could not talk. I sorta mumbled. I was incoherent. It was a couple of days later that I got out a sentence. According to my Mom, I said “I would like something to eat please.” It would be another four weeks before I ate something, something liquid. Solid food came later.

I could not write. I filled half a notebook in the four weeks in the hospital. It was kinda scribble. I kept scribbling. I kept trying.

As you can tell, I never gave up. Haven’t given up then. I still try. I don’t have the vocabulary I used to. I pause mid conversation and try to get works out. I have holes in my memory. So a lot of experiences are new adventures. That is kinda fun. As long as I remember that. And I still can’t walk like I used to. I was up to 10 miles at a stretch. I was on the verge of doing a solo half marathon. Then the stroke happened.

So I’m still working on getting better. Last fall I had another adventure. I’ll describe that later. For now, I am working on getting better than I was two years ago.

Another August Ends

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And WOW! this year I was able to write something here every day. OK, in truth I had to go back and fill in a couple of days, but WOW! Looking back over the past year’s output I found this text. In it, I wrote about my promises to do something every day of every month. Like I’ve done this year with Writing in August. Like September of 2019, I’ve got plans for September. And I’ll tell you about it in October.

But golly, go visit August 2020 (or 2019 for that matter) and find out what I’ve been curious about.

There’s a dozen or so drafts in skeleton form. So this will continue for quite awhile, no lack of ideas here.

Writing first thing in the morning too.

Annual Letter

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I send a note to my doctor and everyone he shares it with. This year I wrote this.

So, it’s been two years since you told my wife that I had a 20% chance of living. But she said yes to trying and someone, I don’t know the name, held my heart for half an hour while the coagulant sealed the hole poked in my heart. That continues to hold well. Even with a portion of my lung removed due to the after-effects of radiation.

Well! Thanks to you all! I am doing well,. I’m now working on getting aerobic conditioning back. And working on my memories – many have gone the ways of my vocabulary with the stroke. Even with those two bits, I’m happy to be here.

Hopefully, you and the full team at Kaiser are doing well and continuing to save lives with your dedication. Mark your calendar for October 25 – my One Year with No Hospitalisation date.

Until next year at this time, take care.

~ Michael Rasmussen

Drawing Circles and More

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This sounds like something from Lynda Berry. Drawing circles, like making a spiral, can well, let’s have John Green explain it.

This doesn’t work for me. I don’t chill out. I look at the empty space and how much circle drawing to get to the end. And it’s going for the goal, not just drawing circles. And that is the point. Just draw circles. Do not make things with them. Just draw.

Austin Kleon touched on this topic in Something to Do. Which is about being cooped up, locked up, land all that stuff I don’t understand during the lockdowns of Covid-19. He describes it like this.

There’s an essay in Zadie Smith’s Intimations called “Something To Do,” in which she thinks about why she writes. She comes around to this very simple truth: “It’s something to do.”

~ Austin Kleon

Something to do? I don’t lack for things to do. There are way too many things to do. I keep trying to keep myself focused on what (pick one, any one) thing to do.

There is always plenty to do. It’s like being an artist. I’ve got this studio, a home with lots of space downstairs. I get to do lots of somethings. As soon as I move out all the stuff I’ve accumulated.